Digital Image of the Penumbra during the Lunar Eclipse of 30 December 2001

Calwell Lunar Observatory

This image was taken using my portable 4.5 inch Jason reflector and 12.5 mm eyepiece so as to clear trees in the vicinity of the Calwell Lunar Observatory. Unfortunately the focus was not good, but under threshold conditions this image does clearly show the penumbra at the upper right of the processed image above.


In Image Analyst a gray scale profile taken across the digital image of the Moon (the black line across the image) clearly indicates the effect of the penumbra on the right side of the plot when compared with the left, where the brightness of the imaged limb is normal.


Produced by the Calwell Lunar Observatory, 3 January 2002